A Dependent Burn
by Anaroriel
Summary: Maiko. She can walk away, but he can't.


Mai knocked once on her boyfriend's chamber doors before entering. The room was dark, made darker still by the deep red décor. It was a motif overly used in the Fire Nation, and while red was Mai's favorite color, she was beginning to grow tired of it. It was so dull and boring, like most things in her life at the moment.

The one thing, or person rather, who wasn't dull and boring to her stood up when she entered. "Mai," he said and moved forward to kiss her. Mai was happy to oblige him.

"You look tired," she said, studying the dark circle under his right eye. His left eye, scarred after so many years, looked tight at painful from lack of sleep, and her hand moved up to cup that side of his face.

"I'm fine." He sat down in his chair and looked up at her. "I've missed you."

"It hasn't been that long. A few days at most?" Mai glanced around the room before finally pulling herself up on his bed. "It would be nice if I had somewhere to sit," Mai remarked. "I can hardly feel like your equal when all you have to offer is a seat on your bed."

Zuko actually blushed. "You know I don't think of you like that, Mai."

Mai smiled. Zuko was still somewhat immune to her poor attempts at flirting, but his blush charmed her. "Well, prove it to me."

"Huh?"

Mai patted the spot next to her on the bed, and Zuko got the hint very quickly. He sat next to her, and Mai ducked under his arm and leaned against him. "I've missed you too."

Zuko buried his face in her dark hair, enjoying her proximity. "The southern governors are refusing to cooperate," he told her hair. "They didn't even obey my orders to disband their military units. What if they are planning to rise up against me?"

"You have to be firmer with them. They can't just disobey their Fire Lord."

Zuko's head jerked back with frustration. "I'm _trying_, Mai. But what else can I do? I can't threaten or terrorize them like my father did. I don't want to be like him, and I don't want to use his tactics." Self-consciously, Zuko touched the shiny red scar on his face.

Mai reached out and pulled his hand away gently. "We'll figure out a way. Don't worry."

"How can I do anything _but _worry? Everything is falling to pieces!"

"Zuko…"

"No! You don't understand." Zuko drew back from Mai and began pacing. "My legacy, my honor! Everything I've worked so hard to build over the past year is falling to pieces at my feet!" He stopped and dropped his head. "I'm weak."

"Yes," Mai said. His head snapped up to look at her. "Maybe you're feeling a little weak now, Zuko, but that only means you can only get stronger."

"But how? I don't know how. I wish uncle were here."

Mai reached out a hand to him, but he brushed her aside. Mai knew there was no point in talking to him when he was like this, and she stood up to leave.

"Where are you going?"

"I'm giving you some time. When are you meeting the governors?"

"At three," he said. He stared at her, and his face became dark. He wouldn't let her walk out on him this time. He stood up and turned to walk out the door first.

"No, you stay here," Mai said. "You cannot walk away from me." Zuko ignored her and kept walking. "Don't, Zuko."

Zuko stopped at the doorway and let her pass by him. Furiously he slammed the door after her, and after a moment he leaned his head against the cool metal of the door. It reminded him of Mai.

Several hours later, Mai joined Zuko at this meeting and tried to stifle her yawns as the most powerful of the three governors finished giving his case to the Fire Lord.

"As you can see, Fire Lord Zuko," finished the boorish imbecile. His portly body swung around to grin at Mai, who rolled her eyes with annoyance. "That is not at all possible."

"No. No, what is not possible is for you to disobey orders from me!" Zuko's fingernails dug into the wooden armrest and he took deep calming breaths. Instead of being calmed, Zuko could only be reminded of firebending, whose main source of power and might came from the breath. And at that moment, staring at the pompous fool prancing around in front of him, considering firebending was not the best idea.

Mai touched his arm to bring him back to the situation at hand.

"I can see that you need some time to think over a better plan of action, my lord," the governor said.

Zuko did not wait for the governor to leave before thundering back to his chambers and slamming the doors behind him and his girlfriend.

"What is that?" Mai asked. A large and excessively ornate piece of furniture practically blocked the door to his room.

"Oh. I got you a chair."

Even from across the room he could see her bemusement and disgust at the thing. "You got me a chair?"

"Well, you said this morning you wanted a place to sit where you felt like an equal, didn't you? Someplace other than the bed. There it is." Zuko gestured angrily at the gold and velvet monstrosity. He turned his back on his girlfriend and studied a pair of shishi lions near the entrance to his red-stained chambers. He was beginning to think that the Fire Nation needed a new decorator that wasn't so fond of only one color. Seeing red wasn't exactly improving his mood.

Mai looked at the chair again then gingerly sat upon it. She frowned. "It's hard."

Zuko growled. "Deal with it for once!"

"What's wrong, Zuko?" More than any other three words that could be spoken by Mai's low, husky voice, those three words were the ones that always brought Zuko's defenses crumbling raw at his feet.

"Nothing! Everything. I can't handle this anymore. I can't handle this day after day! Why did my uncle leave me here alone to deal with this messed up, ruined place? Why did he allow the messed up, ruined Fire Prince to take over and deal with this? I always thought my uncle was wise, but how can he be wise to leave this place to me, and only me?"

"Zuko…" Mai's voice was patient, but deeply exasperated. "You know that's not true. You're not ruined, or messed up."

"It is true. It is. It's written on my face." His fingers touched the corner of his scarred eye. "And no one can seem to forget it. No one can unsee it with this reminder in front of their eyes. Not my subjects, not my people, not my friends, not even –" Zuko couldn't finish.

"Me, you mean."

He twisted back to face Mai, who still sat stiffly on the gaudy chair in the middle of his chambers. "Why are you still sitting there if you don't like it? Get up!"

Mai jumped to her feet. "I can see that you need some time to cool down before we can talk about this." With a glare, she pivoted on her heel and swept past him.

"Don't walk away from me! Mai!" She ignored him. Zuko roared and punched flames at Mai's chair, erupting it into a bonfire.

Mai stopped. Wordlessly she watched his misguided gift to her blaze, flickering light in the shadowed and smoke-filled room. With a twist of her wrist, blades appeared in her hand and she gripped them tightly before re-sheathing them on her arms.

"You always walk away. Why can you always walk away, but I can't?" Zuko's words were barely audible. His hands held his face and the heavy sleeves on his official Fire Lord robes muffled his voice. "Why is it that you can just get up and leave? Why can't I ever do that?"

"Because, Zuko," Mai said. "If you walk away, you'll have a reason not to come back to me: your honor, your country, something that when pushed to decide, you'll always choose over me." Her dark eyes reflected the orange flames. She bent down to pick up a scrap of metal off the floor. It was the insignia of the Fire Nation that had broken off the chair. She studied it before dropping it to the ground. "But unlike you, when I walk away, you and I both know I will come back." Her tone turned dark. "For better or for worse."

Then Mai walked away. But Zuko knew as he tamed the fire of his angry outburst, that she was right. She would be back. And he would be waiting.


End file.
